


Her Shadow

by SakiMcGee



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-12 21:08:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9090847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakiMcGee/pseuds/SakiMcGee
Summary: In which MC is sick of hearing about the Patron-fucking-Saint of the RFA.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is my first story I've posted anywhere, so I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> I made this as a Secret Santa gift for someone on tumblr, and the only prompt they gave me was they they wanted "not Rika lololol" so...here's an anti-Rika story ahaha.
> 
> Also sorry if the tense is weird. I wrote half of this story in present tense and then went back and changed it to past tense, so I may have missed some spots;;

To say that your nerves were fried would be an understatement

You’d reached the limit of your patience long ago, but you had always been pretty good at putting on a brave face, so no one was the wiser. You couldn’t even tell what you were feeling the most. A little anger, a little disappointment, and a lot of jealousy.

Yes, jealousy. You’d known since your first day as an official RFA member how highly the other members thought of Rika. She had been a great shadow looming over the chatroom since long before your arrival. You knew how much she meant to the organization--how much she meant to the members individually (except Jaehee, you thought, and you made a mental note to talk to her more often). You knew all of this, and you never felt any negativity from it. Rika’s role was one you were determined to live up to. You wanted to make your new friends proud and do what you could to ease the suffering they still felt after all these years.

That, however, was before you actually arrived at the RFA party.

Everything had been going wonderfully at first. You met all your new friends in person for the first time; heard their voices directly rather than through a phone speaker. You saw the grandeur of the party and really began to understand what a feat it was to arrange the entire event. You saw the line of guests, many of whom were only in attendance because of the work you’d done, and tried to remain calm while rubbing elbows with celebrities and politicians.

The party as a whole was fine. It was the little things that had begun to eat at you.

“MC, a few more of your invited guests have arrived,” Yoosung had announced as he cheerfully made his way over to you. You followed his gaze to the grand double-door entryway, a proud smile tugging at your lips.

“Ah, that’s great! There were a few people that were on the fence about coming, so I’m glad they made up their minds in the end.” You turned back to Yoosung as you sipped from your wine glass. A silence fell over to two of you, the young blonde shrugging his shoulders a bit as if holding himself back from something. At the quirk of your eyebrow, he finally relented, “Well, I just thought you might go and greet them personally! You know, shake their hands, introduce yourself?”

You swallowed thickly. “Am I supposed to?” You wanted to do everything you could to make the party a success, and the last thing you wanted was any member of the RFA to believe you were slacking.

Seeing the anxiety in your eyes, Yoosung quickly threw up his hands. “Oh, no! It’s fine! It’s just a formality! You can do whatever you want, MC. It’s just something Rika used to do, that’s all. But Jaehee seems to be greeting everyone, so don’t worry about it.” The boy had smiled and given you an affectionate pat on the shoulder before heading off to attend to something, himself.

The gesture was warm, yet you felt an icy sensation tighten in your stomach.

Things only got worse from there. Zen pointed out that the venue was gorgeous “even if the decorations weren’t done by Rika this time”. Jumin had noted that the event schedule “wasn’t moving as smoothly as it did when Rika and V created it”.  Sure, everyone took a chance to congratulate you on your hard work and praise you on the number of guests you’d invited, but it did little to lift your spirits at that point.

You found yourself rushing all over the venue, desperate to offer help anywhere you could--anywhere Rika would have. You were angry at yourself for becoming so desperate, but you didn’t think you could handle one more off-handed comparison to the fucking Patron Saint of the RFA. The stress was getting to you; the unending chatter of the hundreds of guests, the steadily rising heat of a ballroom full of people, the itchiness of the dress Jumin had provided for you that was beautiful but so so uncomfortable-

The air was knocked out of you rather suddenly when you rounded the corner too fast and ran directly into another person. The two of you braced yourselves against one another, neither of you falling completely to the floor, thankfully.

“Oh god,” you gasped, your voice only cracking slightly, “I’m so sorry, I’m just in a huge rush and I-”  
  
“MC?”

Your attention snapped up to the face of the person you’d run into. You found a concerned honey gaze staring back at you in the eyes of Jaehee. She quickly adjusted her glasses before securing her hands on the backs of your arms where they remained braced against her. “MC,” she repeated, firm but concerned, “are you alright? You look frazzled.”

You searched Jaehee’s face for a moment, squeezing her arms, your voice failing you.

And then you broke.

 

* * *

 

“Yoosung and Zen will handle greeting the guests, and Mr. Han is still on top of the schedule,” Jaehee informed you gently.

You looked up at her through your wet eyelashes, sniffling quietly. Jaehee offered you a gentle smile before sitting beside you, placing her hand on top of yours. “Are you feeling better?”

You nodded curtly. “I’m sorry you have to babysit me, Jaehee-”

Jaehee squeezed your hand, interrupting you. “MC, you’re upset about something, and I want you to feel better. You’ve been encouraging me in the messenger, considering my feelings when I myself tried to ignore them. I plan to do the same for you.”

Her words were so sincere, they took you by surprise for a moment. You looked away and bit your lip, trying to figure out where to begin. “I just want to be useful to the RFA. To all of you.”

“You are! This party was only able to happen because of your help.”

“But it would’ve been better if Rika had planned it, right?”

Realization dawned in Jaehee’s eyes. “That’s what all this is about, isn’t it? Because you feel like you need to live up to Rika?” The woman inched closer to you, pursing her lips a bit as she thought of what to say. “I never really knew Rika myself. I’ve heard the same stories you have, and I can understand why everyone holds her in such high regard.”

You struggled not to roll your eyes.

“I don’t think they mean anything malicious by it, MC. And I’m sure you know that. Yoosung, Zen, Mr. Han, even Luciel...everyone still feels the hurt of her passing very intensely. RFA is her legacy, so it’s safe to say her presence will always be felt here at least a little.”

You looked away again, but Jaehee leaned forward to put herself in your line of sight again. “However,” she continued softly, in a tone of voice that made you realize what a good mother she would probably be, “we all love you. We do. You’re the shining star that brought the RFA out of a dark spell. I don’t ever want you to think of yourself as Rika’s replacement, and I want you to stop comparing yourself to her. Rika is a dear memory, and you...” Jaehee paused to wrap her arm around you, squeezing you gently in a side-hug, “...you are our new friend, and one of the people who will lead this organization into the future. Stop worrying about what Rika used to do, and think about what we’re going to do in the future. As an organization, and as friends.”

A few beats of silence passed in which you felt like you were going to cry again. Not sure what else to do, you laughed. “Jaehee, that was so...beautiful.”

The woman beside you adjusted her glasses, a playfully smug smile crossing her face. “I’m quite well-spoken, if I do say so.” The side-hug Jaehee had wrapped you in turned into a supportive embrace, and you reveled in the warm happiness that flowed through you.

“Now,” Jaehee said, releasing you, “I do think this is something you’re going to have to discuss privately with everyone else. You can tell them how you feel about being compared to Rika, and I’m sure they’ll eventually understand...”

Jaehee hesitated slightly, and you immediately understood why. Imagining confronting the emotionally-closed-off Jumin, or the still-dependent Yoosung with these feelings would be challenging to say the least.

“Whatever happens, I’ll back you up,” Jaehee said softly. You hesitated a moment before nodding. “Now, what do you say we get back to the party? And you can help us on your own terms, in your own way.” Jaehee stood and helped you up as well, and you couldn’t help smiling.

You returned to the ballroom, Jaehee eventually having to leave you to continue her duties. But you still felt the strength of her support. With renewed determination, you made your way toward the stream of guests still checking into the event. You began to greet them with a warm smile and modest handshakes.

Not because it’s what Rika would have done...but simply because it was what you wanted to do.

 

 


End file.
